1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a heat-exchange apparatus. Particularly, it is concerned with an apparatus capable of effecting forced circulations of two separate fluids through the apparatus without any substantial intermingling therebetween as well as of effecting a heat-exchanging between said two fluids. That is, the present invention intends to realize both functions of a fan or blower and of a heat-exchanger.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the past, a heat-exchange between two fluids is normally performed by means of two separate blowers or fluid pumps, each of which feeds either of said fluids at high temperature side and low temperature side to a heat exchanging unit. Flow rates of said fluids to be fed to the unit may generally be controlled at the high and low temperature sides, respectively in order to maintain the efficiency of said heat-exchanging unit to an optimum point.
The above-described system, comprising two separate fluid-driving units at both of the high and low temperature sides and a stationary heat exchanging unit, however, has a drawback in its complexity of the arrangement and its bulkyness of the total system.
An alternative system in the prior arts employs a rotating heat-exchanging element which serves to propel the fluids as well as to effect heat-exchanging therebetween. In one of such a system, each of the fluids is propelled along either face of the interior or exterior of a pipe of heat-conducting material which rotates and exerts a centrifugal force on each of the fluids. Most of such an apparatus need to have a complex structure which might mean increased cost. Durability of the apparatus is also dubious in that its key component, the heat-exchanging unit might frequently get clogged.